Friday's opening action from the 2017 MPSF Women's Water Polo Championships at UCLA's Spieker Aquatic Center in Westwood, CA, provided plenty of fireworks.

Second-seeded Stanford and No. 3 USC cruised through their openers in dominating fashion to set up a rematch of last year's national championship on Saturday afternoon in the semifinals. In 2016, the Trojans reigned victorious over the Cardinal 8-7, so Stanford will be looking for vengeance and a spot in the MPSF final on Sunday. Fifth-seeded Cal also moved on to the semifinals with a 9-7 win over No. 4 Arizona State.

Schedule: 

Saturday, April 29

Game 4: 11 AM PT (No. 7 CSU Bakersfield vs. No. 6 San Jose State)
Game 5: 12:45 PM PT (No. 2 Stanford vs. No. 3 USC)
Game 6: 2:30 PM PT (No. 1 UCLA vs. No. 5 Cal)
Loser of Game 3 receives a bye

Game 1: 

Stanford 14, CSU Bakersfield 2

Second-seeded Stanford routed No. 7 CSU Bakersfield in an offensive barrage Friday, moving on to face No. 3 USC in the semifinals on Saturday. Led by superstar ​Maggie Steffens, the Cardinal jumped out to an early 7-0 lead and never looked back. Three of Steffens' four goals came in the second quarter, putting CSUB out of sight, out of mind.

Stanford also received a strong performance from ​Katie Dudley​ as well -- notching her third hat trick of the season with three goals.​

In a rematch of last year's national championship, the Cardinal will take on the No. 3, defending national champion USC Trojans on Saturday at 2:45 PM CT/12:45 PM PT for a chance to move on to the finals on Sunday.

	1	2	3	4	Total
Stanford	5	4	1	4	14
CSUB	0	2	0	0	2

Game 2: 

USC 17, San Jose State 2

The defending champs looked strong on Friday. The No. 3-seeded USC squad took it to the house against No. 6 San Jose State. The Trojans rattled off 12 straight goals before the Spartans even got on the board, sealing the deal fairly early on. Led by senior captain ​Avery Peterson's​ hat trick, USC will be moving on to the semifinals Saturday to face Stanford in a rematch of last year's national championship bout.​

The most impressive part about USC's performance was the fact that 12 -- yes, count 'em 12 -- different Trojans got on the scoreboard. Talk about ball movement... USC was passing the rock around more efficiently and effectively than the San Antonio Spurs.

	1	2	3	4	Total
USC	6	4	6	1	17
SJSU	0	0	1	1	2

Game 3: 

Cal 9, Arizona State 7

In the most hotly contested game of the day, No. 5 Cal fended off a strong No. 4 ASU team. The Golden Bears' offensive attack was led by junior driver ​Dora Antal's hat trick. ​Genevieve Weed​ (2) and ​Emma Wright​ (2) also had a multi-goal game for Cal.​

​However, it was the Bears' defensive prowess that was credited for the win. "I think for the most part we came into this game wanting to play suffocating defense," Cal goalie and senior leader ​Madeline Trabucco said. "There were a couple of momentum swings, but overall we kept our cool. Our rock is our defense. It's what we have been relying on." Trabucco continued to press into the importance of their defense by saying, "Our confidence is coming from our defense. At the end of the day, goals are going to come. But I think if we play well on defense, we can beat any team out there."

With Friday's win, Cal earned a date in the semifinals Saturday with top-seed UCLA at 4:30 PM CT/2:30 PM PT.
 

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cal	2	1	4	2	9
ASU	2	1	2	2	7

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